noodling around with grandpa’s cloudy with a chance of meatballs cookbook by judi barrett and ron barrett

I hope we’re not getting any hamburger storms or pea soup fog. I wouldn’t mind a little drizzle of orange juice, followed by a few low clouds of sunny-side up eggs with lightly browned pieces of toast drifting in from the east. If you see any cream cheese and jelly sandwiches out your way, don’t eat too many or you’ll get a tummy ache.

I twirled my spaghetti with glee when I learned that my favorite meatball maven Judi Barrett had published a brand new cookbook containing some of Grandpa’s favorite recipes. Now, you and any nibble-happy munchkins hanging out at your house can create your very own culinary weather!

As you know, the original Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs book starts out with Grandpa flipping pancakes on Saturday morning. So it’s only right that the first recipe in the cookbook should be for these very same pancakes, which taste just as good any day of the week, any time of day. Flipping them onto someone’s head, however, is entirely up to you.

Thanks to Ron Barrett’s wacky, giggle-inducing illustrations (alone worth the price of admission), familiar and potentially ho-hum recipes acquire fresh appeal and allure. He had me at the Table of Contents, where I could feast on all 25 Chewandswallow faves at once:

Who could resist a Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie, a Spaghetti Twister with a Tomato Tornado, or a Milky Maple Soda? Remember when the people of Chewandswallow built temporary houses with their bread rafts?

Cornelius made his own toasty bread house.

Wondering about the meatballs? Make some square ones for a change so they don’t roll off your plate (cloudy with a chance of meatcubes!). With a color photo of each finished dish plus clever quips and spot illos, the recipes are almost as fun to read as they are to make.

I love this cheese guy. I really need to find a big slice of bread to lie on.

Maybe it’s just me, but when I browse through this scrumptious spiral-bound book, I find myself wanting to act out Ron Barrett’s pictures. Love how he’s captured the ebullient spirit and stretch-your-imagination-to-the-limit impetus of the Cloudy stories with his trademark energy and humor. Did he use watercolors this time around? Who knows? The copyright page says, “The illustrations for this book are rendered in tomato sauce.” :D

Only one thing left to do. Juggle your drumsticks, pickle your cucumbers, reel in a tuna fish sandwich and flip for this cookbook!